Calendar-driven business intelligence

ABSTRACT

Techniques for aiding individuals in managing work activities. In one set of embodiments, information about work activities for an individual is received from a plurality of different business applications. The work activities relate to business transactions facilitated by the plurality of different business applications. Calendar entries are then generated for each work activity based on the received information, and presented in a calendar of the individual. In various embodiments, the calendar entries are generated automatically (i.e., without human intervention). By focusing on the time sequence in which work activities should be addressed, embodiments of the present invention enable individuals to quickly and efficiently prioritize and carry out their pending work activities, thereby improving the operational efficiency of an enterprise.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to informationmanagement, and more particularly to techniques for aiding an individualin managing work activities.

Many business software applications (e.g., purchasing applications suchas Oracle Purchasing, general ledger applications such as Oracle GeneralLedger, project management applications such as Oracle Projects, humanresources applications such as Oracle Human Resources, etc.) useworkflow engines to facilitate the execution of business processes.Generally speaking, workflow engines generate and orchestrate the workactivities required to successfully carry out an execution instance of aprocess (i.e., transaction).

In many instances, the work activities for a particular transaction willcorrespond to human, rather than computer, based operations. Forexample, a transaction to process an expense report may require reviewand approval of the expense report by a manager. In these cases, therelevant individuals involved in the transaction must be informed oftheir pending work activities and prompted to complete those activitiesin a timely manner.

Current business applications (and their corresponding workflow engines)communicate work activity information to individuals via a simplenotification mechanism. For instance, returning to the example above,the manager responsible for approving the expense report would receive anotification (e.g., via email, text message, etc.) from the appropriatebusiness application requesting review and approval of the report. Thisnotification, along with any other notifications, would typically bepresented to the manager in a list format (e.g., email inbox), orderedaccording to the time at which it was received.

One problem with the above approach is that the presentation of pendingwork activities as a simple list makes it difficult for individuals tovisualize the relative time constraints associated with each workactivity, as well as the relative costs of delay. This is particularlytrue if an individual is simultaneously involved in a large number ofdifferent, possibly cross-functional, transactions, and therefore has alarge number of different work activities that she must prioritize andtrack. In addition, current notification mechanisms often providelittle, if any, contextual information regarding a particular workactivity. This further complicates work activity management.

Accordingly, it is desirable to have techniques that aid individuals inassessing, understanding, and acting upon all of the work activitiesthey are responsible for in a timely and efficient manner.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide techniques for aidingindividuals in managing work activities. In one set of embodiments,information about work activities for an individual is received from aplurality of different business applications. The work activities relateto business transactions facilitated by the plurality of differentbusiness applications. Calendar entries are then generated for each workactivity based on the received information, and presented in a calendarof the individual. In various embodiments, the calendar entries aregenerated automatically (i.e., without human intervention). By focusingon the time sequence in which work activities should be addressed,embodiments of the present invention enable individuals to quickly andefficiently prioritize and carry out their pending work activities,thereby improving the operational efficiency of an enterprise.

In further embodiments, a set of business rules are used to, forexample, determine relevant dates for work activities, control howcalendar entries are displayed in the calendar, and determine actionsthat may be performed with respect to the calendar entries. In variousembodiments, the set of business rules are configured to take intoaccount one or more attributes of the work activities. In yet furtherembodiments, the calendar entries are configured to include varioustypes of contextual information associated with the work activities.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method foraiding an individual in managing work activities is provided. The methodcomprises receiving, from a first software application in a plurality ofsoftware applications, first information about a first work activity foran individual, the first work activity relating to a first businesstransaction facilitated by the first software application, andreceiving, from a second software application in the plurality ofsoftware applications, second information about a second work activityfor the individual, the second work activity relating to a secondbusiness transaction facilitated by the second software application. Themethod further comprises generating, based on the first information, afirst calendar entry for the first work activity, the first calendarentry indicating one or more dates relevant to the first work activity,and generating, based on the second information, a second calendar entryfor the second work activity, the second calendar entry indicating oneor more dates relevant to the second work activity. The first and secondcalendar entries are then displayed in a calendar of the individual. Invarious embodiments, the first and second calendar entries are generatedwithout any human intervention.

In one set of embodiments, the one or more dates relevant to the firstwork activity include a due date for the first work activity, and theone or more dates relevant to the second work activity include a duedate for the second work activity.

In another set of embodiments, the one or more dates relevant to thefirst work activity include a due date range for the first workactivity, and the one or more dates relevant to the second work activityinclude a due date range for the second work activity.

In another set of embodiments, one or more business rules are used todetermine the one or more dates relevant to the first work activity andthe one or more dates relevant to the second work activity. In furtherembodiments, the one or more business rules are used to determine howthe first and second calendar entries are displayed in the calendar. Infurther embodiments, the one or more business rules are used todetermine actions that may be performed with respect to the first andsecond calendar entries. The one or more business rules may bepredetermined, or may be definable/configurable by one or more users. Inaddition, the one or more business rules may be configured to take intoaccount one or more attributes of the first or second work activities,such as type, description, status, responsible party, and priority.

In another set of embodiments, the first calendar entry includes a linkto a first transactional user interface of the first softwareapplication, the first transaction user interface being operable tocomplete the first work activity. Further, the second calendar entryincludes a link to a second transactional user interface of the secondsoftware application, the second transactional user interface beingoperable to complete the second work activity.

In another set of embodiments, the calendar is displayed as part of abusiness intelligence dashboard. In addition, the first and secondsoftware applications are workflow-enabled applications, and the firstand second work activities are workflow tasks.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, another methodfor aiding individuals in managing work activities is provided. Themethod comprises receiving, from a software application, informationabout a work activity for the individual, the work activity relating toa transaction facilitated by the software application, and generating,based on the information, a calendar entry for the work activity,wherein the calendar entry indicates one or more dates relevant to thework activity, and wherein the calendar entry is generated without anyhuman intervention. The calendar entry is then displayed in a calendarof the individual.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a system foraiding an individual in managing work activities is provided. The systemcomprises an application programming interface (API) for use by aplurality of software applications, and a calendar module. The calendarmodule is configured to receive, via an invocation of the applicationprogramming interface by a first software application in a plurality ofsoftware applications, first information about a first work activity forthe individual, the first work activity relating to a first transactionfacilitated by the first software application, and receive, via aninvocation of the application programming interface by a second softwareapplication in the plurality of software applications, secondinformation about a second work activity for the individual, the secondwork activity relating to a second transaction facilitated by the secondsoftware application. The calendar module is further configured togenerate, based on the first information, a first calendar entry for thefirst work activity, the first calendar entry indicating one or moredates relevant to the first work activity, and generate, based on thesecond information, a second calendar entry for the second workactivity, the second calendar entry indicating one or more datesrelevant to the second work activity. The first and second calendarentries are then displayed in a calendar of the individual.

In one set of embodiments, the system further comprises one or morebusiness rules, wherein the one or more business rules are used by thecalendar module to determine the one or more dates relevant to the firstwork activity and the one or more dates relevant to the second workactivity. The one or more business rules may also be used to determinehow the first and second calendar entries are displayed in the calendar,and/or to determine actions that may be performed with respect to thefirst and second calendar entries.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, amachine-readable medium is provided, the machine-readable medium havingstored thereon a series of instructions which, when executed by aprocessing component, cause the processing component to aid anindividual in managing work activities. In various embodiments, theseries of instructions cause the processing component to receive, from afirst software application in a plurality of software applications,first information about a first work activity for the individual, thefirst work activity relating to a first transaction facilitated by thefirst software application, and receive, from a second softwareapplication in the plurality of software applications, secondinformation about a second work activity for the individual, the secondwork activity relating to a second transaction facilitated by the secondsoftware application. The series of instructions further cause theprocessing component to generate, based on the first information, afirst calendar entry for the first work activity, the first calendarentry indicating one or more dates relevant to the first work activity,and generate, based on the second information, a second calendar entryfor the second work activity, the second calendar entry indicating oneor more dates relevant to the second work activity. The first and secondcalendar entries are then displayed in a calendar of the individual.

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the embodimentsdisclosed herein may be realized by reference to the remaining portionsof the specification and the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments in accordance with the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating the steps performed in aiding anindividual in managing work activities in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustrating a calendar-drivenbusiness intelligence system in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a screen display illustrating an exemplary calendar userinterface in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a system environment that may beused in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of a computer system that may beused in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding ofthe present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled inthe art that the present invention may be practiced without some ofthese specific details.

Embodiments of the present invention provide techniques for aiding anindividual in managing work activities related to business transactions.Specifically, embodiments of the present invention provide a frameworkfor organizing and presenting such work activities in a time-basedformat, such as calendar entries within a calendar. By visualizing thetime constraints of work activities via the calendar, individuals maymore quickly and easily prioritize their pending work activities anddetermine a plan for completing those work activities in a timelymanner. In addition, the calendar entries may be configured in variousways to further aid in work activity management.

Embodiments of the present invention may be used in a variety ofdifferent domains and contexts. Certain embodiments are particularlyapplicable to the business (i.e., enterprise) software context, sincebusiness applications commonly generate large volumes of transactions,each transaction requiring the completion of work activities by variousindividuals. Current methods of workflow notification are problematicbecause they present work activities to individuals without any timecontext, making work activity management difficult and resulting inoperational delays. Embodiments of the present invention overcome theseproblems and thus improve the efficiency of organizations that usebusiness applications to facilitate business processes/transactions.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart 100 illustrating the steps performed in aiding anindividual in managing work activities in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention. In various embodiments, the processing offlowchart 100 may be implemented in software, hardware, or combinationsthereof. As software, the processing of flowchart 100 may be implementedas part of a business intelligence framework or platform designed tointeroperate with various business software applications.

At step 102, first information about a first work activity for anindividual is received from a first software application in a pluralityof software applications. In various embodiments, the first workactivity is related to a first transaction facilitated by the firstsoftware application. For example, the first work activity maycorrespond to preparing an interview evaluation form for a new hireevaluation transaction facilitated by a human resources application.

At step 104, second information about a second work activity for anindividual is received from a second software application in theplurality of software applications. In various embodiments, the secondwork activity is related to a second transaction facilitated by thesecond software application. In an exemplary embodiment, the first andsecond software applications are distinct. Further, the first and secondwork activities may pertain to completely different functional areas.For example, the second work activity may correspond to approving anexpense report for an expense report processing transaction facilitatedby an accounting application.

At step 106, a first calendar entry for the first work activity isgenerated based on the first information, the first calendar entryindicating one or more dates relevant to the first work activity. Inaddition, at step 108, a second calendar entry for the second workactivity is generated based on the second information, the secondcalendar entry indicating one or more dates relevant to the second workactivity. In various embodiments, the first and second calendar entriesare generated automatically (i.e., without any human intervention).Thus, the individual does not have to manually review her pending workactivities and enter them into a calendar.

In one set of embodiments, the one or more dates relevant to the firstor second work activities may include a due date for the first or secondwork activity respectively. In another set of embodiments, the one ormore dates may include a range of due dates for the first or second workactivity respectively. This may be the case if the work activity must becompleted within a set range of dates. In yet another set ofembodiments, the one or more dates may include a reminder date for thefirst or second work activity respectively. For example, the reminderdate may be set to one week before the actual due date for the workactivity. One of ordinary skill in the art would recognize manyvariations, modifications, and alternatives.

In various embodiments, the first and second calendar entries mayinclude one or more attributes relevant to the calendar entry/workactivity. These attributes will typically be determined from theinformation received at steps 102, 104, and may include work activitytype, calendar entry type, description, status, responsible party,priority, and the like. As described in further detail below, the one ormore attributes may be used by business rules to modify the displayand/or behavior/properties of the calendar entries. For example, in oneembodiment, the one or more attributes may be used to determine therelevant dates for each calendar entry.

Once the first and second calendar entries are generated, they aredisplayed in a calendar of the individual (step 110). In an embodiment,the calendar may be a specialized calendar dedicated to displayingentries for work activities related to business transactions, such asthose discussed with respect to steps 102, 104. In such cases, thecalendar may be displayed as part of a business intelligence userinterface accessible to the individual, such as a business intelligencedashboard or home page (e.g., portal). In other embodiments, thecalendar may be a general-purpose calendar configured to display entriesfor business-related work activities, as well as entries for other,non-business-related activities (e.g., personal). In one set ofembodiments, the calendar is displayed as part of a web-based userinterface.

Although not shown in flowchart 100, attributes of the first or secondwork activities may change over time. For example, the deadline for anactivity may be pushed back/forward, or the priority for an activity maybe raised/lowered. In these situations, such changes are automaticallyreflected in the calendar entries generated at steps 106, 108. As aresult, the individual will always see the most up-to-date, relevantinformation regarding work activities in the calendar.

It should be appreciated that the specific steps illustrated in FIG. 1provide a particular method for aiding an individual in managing workactivities according to an embodiment of the present invention. Othersequences of steps may also be performed according to alternativeembodiments. For example, the individual steps illustrated in FIG. 1 mayinclude multiple sub-steps that may be performed in various sequences asappropriate to the individual step. Further, additional steps may beadded or removed depending on the particular applications. One ofordinary skill in the art would recognize many variations,modifications, and alternatives.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustrating a calendar-drivenbusiness intelligence system 202 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention. In various embodiments, system 202 is configured tocarry out the processing of FIG. 1. System 200 may be implemented insoftware, hardware, or combinations thereof. As software, system 200 maybe implemented as part of a business intelligence framework or platformdesigned to interoperate with various business software applications.

As shown, system 200 is communicatively coupled with a plurality ofsoftware applications 204, 206. In an embodiment, software applications204, 206 are workflow-enabled applications configured to facilitate theexecution of various business processes/transactions. For example,application 204 may be a human resources application and application 206may be a financials application. Applications 204, 206 generatetransactions, which in turn result in work activities (e.g., workflowtasks) for various individuals. Information regarding these workactivities are subsequently communicated to system 202 for processing.

In one set of embodiments, the information regarding work activities istransmitted from applications 204, 206 to system 202 via an applicationprogramming interface (API) 208. For example, API 208 may be exposed toapplications 204, 206, and these applications may invoke the API eachtime a new work activity is generated. Alternatively, API 208 may beinvoked at predetermined intervals, such that information about workactivities are transmitted to system 202 on a batch basis.

Each invocation of API 208 may include various attributes of a workactivity, such as type, description, status, responsible party,priority, and the like. In addition, each invocation may include datesrelevant to the work activity (e.g., due dates). This information isreceived by calendar module 210, which is responsible for generatingcalendar entries based on the information, and presenting theinformation in a time-based format (e.g., calendar).

As shown, calendar module 210 includes a business logic module 212 and acalendar user interface (UI) module 214. Business logic module 212 isconfigured to store and apply one or more business rules to the calendarentries created by calendar module 210. In an exemplary embodiment, theone or more business rules may be based on the attributes of the workactivities received from applications 204, 206. In one set ofembodiments, the one or more business rules are used to determine therelevant dates for a given calendar entry/work activity. For example, abusiness rule may indicate that all accounts receivable deadlines shouldhave a reminder date of one week prior to the due date.

In another set of embodiments, the one or more business rules are usedto determine how the calendar entries are displayed in calendar UI 214.For example, a business rule may indicate that work activities having apriority over a certain threshold are highlighted in red, or that workactivities having a priority under a certain threshold are may befiltered out from view.

In yet another set of embodiments, the one or more business rules areused to determine actions that may be performed with respect to aparticular work activity. For example, a business rule may indicate thatwork activities of a certain type may be reassigned to anotherindividual, whereas work activities of other types cannot be reassigned.Another business rule may indicate that work activities of a certainpriority may be dismissed without being completed.

Calendar UI 214 is a user interface for displaying the calendar entriesgenerated by calendar module 210. Calendar UI 214 may include a varietyof different views, such as daily, weekly, or monthly action agendas. Inaddition, each calendar entry may be displayed with various types ofcontextual information relevant to the entry's corresponding workactivity. For example, calendar UI 214 may display various attributesassociated with a work entry. According to one embodiment, calendar UI214 may also display a navigational link (e.g., URL or hypertext link)to the relevant transactional user interface of the host application ofthe work activity. In this manner, an individual may complete a workactivity by simply clicking on the link in the calendar entry andnavigating to the appropriate transaction user interface of the hostapplication. This avoids the inefficiencies and delays involved inlogging into a separate application to carry out pending workactivities. In an embodiment, once a work activity is finished, thecorresponding calendar entry may be automatically marked as complete.

As described above, various aspects of the presentation and/or behaviorof the work activities displayed in calendar UI 214 may be controlled bybusiness rules stored in business logic module 212. Although not shown,at least a portion of these business rules may be defined or modifiedvia a configuration UI of calendar module 210. In one set ofembodiments, the configuration UI may allow users to define or modifybusiness rules at the level of an individual calendar entry, or at thelevel of an entire calendar. In a further set of embodiments, aconfiguration UI intended for an administrator of calendar module 210may allow for global changes to business rules that affect allcalendars.

FIG. 3 is a screen display 300 illustrating an exemplary calendar userinterface 302 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.In the example shown, calendar user interface 302 is displayed withinthe context of a business intelligence dashboard or portal. However,calendar user interface 302 may also be displayed as a standalone userinterface/display.

Calendar user interface 302 may include a number of different time-basedviews. In the example of FIG. 3, calendar user interface 302 is shown asdisplaying a monthly view, but also may support daily, weekly, and/oryearly views. Further, calendar user interface 302 may display calendarentries corresponding to work activities in a number of different ways.For example, in one set of embodiments, a calendar entry may bepresented as a summary line item on the one or more relevant dates forthe entry, and detailed information for the calendar entry may bedisplayed in a pop-up window. In another set of embodiments, clicking ona particular summary line item for a calendar entry may bring up aseparate user interface that allows the user to view information or takeactions with respect to the calendar entry/work activity. One ofordinary skill in the art would recognize many variations,modifications, and alternatives.

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a system environment 400 forimplementing an embodiment of the invention. System environment 400includes user computing devices 402, 404, 406, and 408. User computingdevices 402, 404, 406, and 408 may be general purpose personal computershaving web browser applications. Alternatively, user computing devices402, 404, 406, and 408 may be any other electronic device, such as athin-client computer, Internet-enabled mobile telephone, or personaldigital assistant, capable of displaying and navigating web pages orother types of electronic documents. Although system environment 400 isshown with four user computing devices, any number of user computingdevices may be supported.

A web server 412 is used to process requests for web pages or otherelectronic documents from user computing devices 402, 404, 406, and 408.In an embodiment of the invention, all user interaction with thecalendar system described herein is via web pages sent to user computingdevices 402, 404, 406, and 408 via the web server 412.

Application server 414 is configured to perform the work activitymanagement techniques of the present invention. For example, applicationserver 414 may be configured to execute calendar-driven businessintelligence system 202 of FIG. 2. Application server 414 may also beconfigured to execute various business applications in communicationwith the calendar-driven business intelligence system, such asapplications 204, 206 of FIG. 2. In an embodiment, application server414 is one or more general purpose computers capable of executingprograms or scripts in response to user computing devices 402, 404, 406,and 408. The applications running on applications server 414 may beimplemented as one or more scripts or programs written in anyprogramming language, such as Java™, C, or C++, or any scriptinglanguage, such as Perl, Python, or TCL.

In an embodiment, application server 414 dynamically creates web pagesfor displaying a calendar for an individual. The web pages created byapplication server 414 are forwarded to user computing devices 402, 404,406, and 408 via web server 412. Similarly, web server 412 receives webpage requests and input data from user computing devices 402, 404, 406,and 408, and forwards the web page requests and input data toapplication server 414.

As the application on application server 414 processes calendar data anduser computer requests, calendar data can be stored or retrieved fromdatabase 416. Database 416 stores calendar data used for one or moreindividuals in an organization. Application server 414 may also be incommunication with an application database 418 configured to storetransactional data for one or more business applications.

An electronic communication network 410 enables communication betweenuser computing devices 402, 404, 406, and 408, web server 412,application server 414, and/or databases 416, 418. In an embodiment,network 410 may further include any form of electrical or opticalcommunication devices, including wireless and wired networks. Network410 may also incorporate one or more local-area networks, such as anEthernet network; wide-area networks, such as the Internet; and virtualnetworks, such as a virtual private network.

System environment 400 is one example for implementing a calendar-basedbusiness intelligence system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. In another embodiment, application server 414, web server412, and optionally databases 416, 418 can be combined into a singleserver computer system. In another embodiment, all or a portion of theweb application functions may be integrated into an application runningon each of the user computing devices 402, 404, 406, and 408. Forexample, a Java™ or JavaScript™ application on a user computing devicemay be used to process or store calendar information or display portionsof the calendar.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary computer system 500 that may be used inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. In variousembodiments, computer system 500 may be used to implement any of thecomputers 402, 404, 406, 408, 412, 414 described above. Computer system500 is shown comprising hardware elements that may be electricallycoupled via a bus 524. The hardware elements may include one or morecentral processing units (CPUs) 502, one or more input devices 504(e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, etc.), and one or more output devices 506(e.g., a display device, a printer, etc.). Computer system 500 may alsoinclude one or more storage devices 508. By way of example, the storagedevice(s) 508 may include devices such as disk drives, optical storagedevices, and solid-state storage devices such as a random access memory(RAM) and/or a read-only memory (ROM), which can be programmable,flash-updateable and/or the like.

Computer system 500 may additionally include a computer-readable storagemedia reader 512, a communications subsystem 514 (e.g., a modem, anetwork card (wireless or wired), an infra-red communication device,etc.), and working memory 518, which may include RAM and ROM devices asdescribed above. In some embodiments, computer system 500 may alsoinclude a processing acceleration unit 516, which can include a digitalsignal processor (DSP), a special-purpose processor, and/or the like.

Computer-readable storage media reader 512 can further be connected to acomputer-readable storage medium 510, together (and, optionally, incombination with storage device(s) 508) comprehensively representingremote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storagemedia for temporarily and/or more permanently containingcomputer-readable information. Communications system 514 may permit datato be exchanged with network 410 and/or any other computer describedabove with respect to system environment 400.

Computer system 500 may also comprise software elements, shown as beingcurrently located within working memory 518, including an operatingsystem 520 and/or other code 522, such as an application program (whichmay be a client application, Web browser, mid-tier application, RDBMS,etc.). In an exemplary embodiment, working memory 518 may includeexecutable code and associated data structures (such as caches) forexecuting the processing of flowchart 100 of FIG. 1. It should beappreciated that alternative embodiments of computer system 500 may havenumerous variations from that described above. For example, customizedhardware might also be used and/or particular elements might beimplemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such asapplets), or both. Further, connection to other computing devices suchas network input/output devices may be employed.

Storage media and computer readable media for containing code, orportions of code, can include any appropriate media known or used in theart, including storage media and communication media, such as but notlimited to volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmissionof information such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules, or other data, including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memoryor other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, data signals, datatransmissions, or any other medium which can be used to store ortransmit the desired information and which can be accessed by acomputer.

While the present invention has been described using a particularcombination of hardware and software, it should be recognized that othercombinations of hardware and software are also within the scope of thepresent invention. The present invention may be implemented only inhardware, or only in software, or using combinations thereof.

The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense. Many variations of theinvention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reviewof the disclosure. The scope of the invention should, therefore, bedetermined not with reference to the above description, but insteadshould be determined with reference to the pending claims along withtheir full scope or equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for aiding an individual in managingwork activities, the method comprising: receiving, by a computer systemfrom a first software application in a plurality of softwareapplications, first information about a first work activity for theindividual, the first work activity relating to a first businessworkflow facilitated by the first software application; receiving, bythe computer system from a second software application in the pluralityof software applications, second information about a second workactivity for the individual, the second work activity relating to asecond business workflow facilitated by the second software application,the second software application being distinct from the first softwareapplication; generating, by the computer system based on the firstinformation, a first calendar entry for the first work activity, thefirst calendar entry indicating one or more dates relevant to the firstwork activity; generating, by the computer system based on the secondinformation, a second calendar entry for the second work activity, thesecond calendar entry indicating one or more dates relevant to thesecond work activity; and displaying, by the computer system, the firstand second calendar entries in a calendar of the individual, wherein oneor more business rules are used to determine the one or more datesrelevant to the first work activity and the one or more dates relevantto the second work activity, the one or more business rules being basedon one or more attributes of the first and second work activities. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more business rules arefurther used to determine how the first and second calendar entries aredisplayed in the calendar.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one ormore business rules are further used to determine actions that may beperformed with respect to the first and second calendar entries.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the one or more business rules areconfigurable by the individual.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst and second calendar entries are generated without any humanintervention.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more datesrelevant to the first work activity include a due date for the firstwork activity, and wherein the one or more dates relevant to the secondwork activity include a due date for the second work activity.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the one or more dates relevant to the firstwork activity include a due date range for the first work activity, andwherein the one or more dates relevant to the second work activityinclude a due date range for the second work activity.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more attributes are selected from a groupconsisting of: type, description, status, responsible party, andpriority.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first calendar entryincludes a link to a first transactional user interface of the firstsoftware application, the first transaction user interface beingoperable to complete the first work activity, and wherein the secondcalendar entry includes a link to a second transactional user interfaceof the second software application, the second transactional userinterface being operable to complete the second work activity.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein updates to the first and second workactivities are automatically propagated to the first and second calendarentries.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the calendar is displayed aspart of a business intelligence dashboard.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the first and second software applications are workflow-enabledapplications, and wherein the first and second work activities areworkflow tasks.
 13. A system for aiding an individual in managing workactivities, the system comprising: a processor configured to: receive,via an invocation of an application programming interface by a firstsoftware application in a plurality of software applications, firstinformation about a first work activity for the individual, the firstwork activity relating to a first workflow facilitated by the firstsoftware application; receive, via an invocation of the applicationprogramming interface by a second software application in the pluralityof software applications, second information about a second workactivity for the individual, the second work activity relating to asecond workflow facilitated by the second software application, thesecond software application being distinct from the first softwareapplication; generate, based on the first information, a first calendarentry for the first work activity, the first calendar entry indicatingone or more dates relevant to the first work activity; generate, basedon the second information, a second calendar entry for the second workactivity, the second calendar entry indicating one or more datesrelevant to the second work activity; and display the first and secondcalendar entries in a calendar of the individual, wherein one or morebusiness rules are used to determine the one or more dates relevant tothe first work activity and the one or more dates relevant to the secondwork activity, the one or more business rules being based on one or moreattributes of the first and second work activities.
 14. The system ofclaim 13, wherein the one or more business rules are further used todetermine how the first and second calendar entries are displayed in thecalendar.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more businessrules are further used to determine actions that may be performed withrespect to the first and second calendar entries.
 16. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium for a computer system, the non-transitorymachine-readable medium having stored thereon a series of instructionswhich, when executed by a processing component, cause the processingcomponent to aid an individual in managing work activities by:receiving, from a first software application in a plurality of softwareapplications, first information about a first work activity for theindividual, the first work activity relating to a first workflowfacilitated by the first software application; receiving, from a secondsoftware application in the plurality of software applications, secondinformation about a second work activity for the individual, the secondwork activity relating to a second workflow facilitated by the secondsoftware application, the second software application being distinctfrom the first software application; generating, based on the firstinformation, a first calendar entry for the first work activity, thefirst calendar entry indicating one or more dates relevant to the firstwork activity; generating, based on the second information, a secondcalendar entry for the second work activity, the second calendar entryindicating one or more dates relevant to the second work activity; anddisplaying the first and second calendar entries in a calendar of theindividual, wherein one or more business rules are used to determine theone or more dates relevant to the first work activity and the one ormore dates relevant to the second work activity, the one or morebusiness rules being based on one or more attributes of the first andsecond work activities.